Ineos Grenadiers join forces with second development team

Ineos Grenadiers plan to bolster their line-up with riders from a second development team, the British outfit have announced.

Hot Tubes Development Cycling is a junior team based in the US that has worked closely with Ineos Grenadiers for a number of years, with current Ineos riders Magnus Sheffield, AJ August and Artem Shmidt all having ridden for Hot Tubes.

Now though, the partnership has become official.

The US team has a long history stretching back some 30 years, and as well as boasting more than 130 US titles, it has helped launch the careers of 10 WorldTour riders, including Matteo Jorgensen and Lawson Craddock.

It means Ineos Grenadiers now have two development teams – the other one being Germany's Lotto Kern-Haus PSD Bank – who were officially brought on board back in November.

Both are part of the British team's 'Ascent' programme, designed to bring young talent through and which has already been put to good use with the recruitment of riders including Josh Tarling and Michael Leonard.

Ineos Grenadiers performance director Dr Scott Drawer said the partnership would allow the team to expand its US talent recruitment.

“Toby and his team have strong values and a great approach to development, always putting the junior rider at the centre and underpinned by significant safeguarding and welfare support," Drawer explained.

"Within our team we have Dario Cioni and Simon Watts overseeing how we work with talent and our partners. They’ll play a crucial role in this partnership and be able to support the team when they’re travelling and racing in Europe."

Hot Tubes Development Cycling founder Toby Stanton added: “Joining the Ineos Grenadiers as a Development Partner is a natural extension of an informal relationship we’ve had with the team for years.

“We are excited our riders will now have access to the Ineos Grenadiers’ training and nutrition experts and enable us with more opportunities to race against the top juniors in Europe.”

Ineos was one of the later WorldTour teams to establish an official development team partner when it took Lotto Kern-Haus PSD Bank on in November, joining contemporaries Visma-Lease a Bike, UAE Team Emirates, Lidl-Trek and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.